Seasons of Grace. Ann Lewin
there are no exams – we’re not going to be better than the people who’ve only passed Grade III. The aim is not to be ‘good’ at prayer – I don’t know what that would mean – but to be faithful in establishing the prayerfulness of the whole of life. There is nothing that can’t be prayerful. If we can think of anything that can’t be prayerful, perhaps we need to question whether we should be doing it at all.
Nothing that can’t be prayerful. There’s the story of two monks who argued about whether you could drink coffee and pray at the same time. They couldn’t agree, so they went off to ask their spiritual directors for advice. When they came back, they still couldn’t agree. One monk said, ‘My director said, “No, on no account must you let anything interfere with prayer.”’ The other monk said, ‘That’s odd, my director didn’t think there was a problem at all. What did you ask?’
The first monk said, ‘I asked if I could drink coffee while I was praying, and my director got quite cross with me.’
The other laughed. ‘Oh, I asked whether I could pray while I was drinking coffee.’
It’s all about changing our attitudes, about growing into a deeper understanding. What we are about is coming closer to the God who loves us – and our response to that love can be expressed in the words of Julian of Norwich, that wise woman from the fourteenth century. She prayed, ‘God, of your goodness give us yourself; for if we ask anything that is less, we shall always be in want. Only in you we have all.’2
Notes
1 After William Temple, ‘The proper relation in thought between prayer and conduct is not that conduct is supremely important and prayer may help it, but that prayer is supremely important, and conduct tests it.’ From Christus Veritas, published Macmillan, London 1924. Quoted by Gordon Mursell in English Spirituality: From 1700 to the Present Day, vol. 2, p. 373, SPCK.
2 Revelation of Divine Love, Long Text ch. 5.
Material for a workshop on ways of praying
The material on pp. 18–19 has been used in many different ways: as the basis for a day, an evening, a Lent course, and for a retreat. The intention is to broaden people’s understanding of prayer, to give them space to explore different ways of praying, and to have the opportunity to talk about their own prayer life, its joys and difficulties, in a way that we don’t often have the chance to do.
No one comes to this subject as an expert, but we all have experience, and it is helpful to share it – if only because it is such a relief to find that other people’s experience is often uncannily like our own.
It is helpful to begin by asking people to talk to their neighbour for a few minutes, identifying what they hope to get out of the event. After that, it is easier to have a general discussion in the group, and list any points people want to raise.
Often, an inability to concentrate is high on the list. It is worth dealing with that problem early in the proceedings. We don’t concentrate on anything for very long – mostly we have a lot of things on our minds, and we juggle with them to prioritize. We don’t suddenly change when we decide to spend time in prayer! But we also know that sometimes we get caught up in something, and don’t know where the time has gone. Setting aside time for prayer means that we put ourselves where God can catch our attention, and then we can leave the prayer to God. For prayer is always a gift, it is God who prays in us and transforms us, rather than we who achieve great heights of devotion. We don’t have to beat ourselves up about the fact that we are creatures with a short attention span – when we find our thoughts wandering off, we can gently bring ourselves back to God. And the more we practise doing that, the more natural it becomes to find ourselves aware of God’s presence.
How much time we can give to consideration of the various ways of praying depends on the nature of the event, but it is always important to give people time to explore for themselves, and have a time for comments and questions. We don’t have to do everything on one occasion – an introduction to what is possible may lead fruitfully to follow-up sessions.
The ways of praying illustrated are arranged on the sheet so that those around the edges are methods which require some time to be set aside. Between them are the ideas we can put into practice as we go about daily life. The candle stands for Christ at the centre, and reminds us that prayer is the expression of our relationship with God as we have been shown him in Jesus, and in God we have all. Much has already been written about the ways of praying illustrated, but ideas about exploring some of them further follow the illustration.
Find a way that works for you
Light a candle
Reflect that Jesus is the light of the world.
Remember your baptism – you have been called from the darkness to live in the light.
Celebrate!
Light a prayer for someone – others will draw strength from your light.
Write a Psalm
Look at a Psalm (Psalm 77 perhaps).
Notice its absolute honesty about feelings, and what it says about God.
Try writing your own.
Spend time with an icon
Let it speak to you, draw you into its inner meaning.
Go for a walk
Look at what is around you.
Give thanks for what is good.
Look at the Benedicite (in Anglican Morning Prayer service)
Make up your own version:
O . . .
bless ye the Lord . . .
Touch – enjoy the texture of tree-trunk, stone, fabric . . .
Listen – enjoy the peace, or use the sounds you hear as material for prayer: police siren or birdsong can each start you off.
Read the paper
Don’t get sucked in – set statements of faith against reported news, (the Psalms will give you ideas). Put your arm around those who make the news, and hold them before God.
Sing and make melody to the Lord. Laments and protests too.
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
These ACTS are a good basis for prayer
Go on a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage is about visiting places and recognizing that God has been at work there. You can go to holy places: you can also recognize the holiness of ordinary places. Try looking at the street
you live in, the rooms of your home, different parts of your body. Remember God is concerned about each of them – make the connections.
Carry a prayer around
Use it when your mind is in neutral – at the supermarket checkout,
in a traffic jam – much more constructive than cursing delay!
The Jesus prayer* or Taizé chants are good.
*Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God, have mercy.
Draw